You Can't Help Her Bonnie, No One Can
by perpetualpathology
Summary: With his new job as Clinical Nursing Manager, Jonny uses his power to get his own way with Jac. However, his actions unexpectedly cause Jac more hassle than he intended.
1. Chapter 1

**5:30pm**  
It was the day before Jonny began his new job as Darwin's Clinical Nursing Manager and he and his best friend were enjoying an alcoholic beverage in Albi's to celebrate his last night as being a 'plain ol' nurse' and it was one of the few occasions that Mo had been able to pry Jonny away from Bonnie for more than ten minutes.  
"So any major changes planned?" Mo queried before she took a sip of her glass of wine.  
"Definitely. From tomorrow onwards, Darwin is going to be the most efficient ward in the world." Jonny concluded smugly.  
"Now tell me the truth." Mo said jokily as she received a playful elbow. "Nah but seriously, what are you actually changing?" She asked curiously.  
"A lot. Staffing rotas, theatre lists, people's attitudes to name a few." Jonny listed. "Speaking of which, you know you're always moaning about that pesky Wednesday night shift?"  
"You didn't?" Mo smirked.  
"Oh I did, you're now working the day shift instead." He smiled to which Mo punched the air in celebration.  
"And that's why _you_ got the job." Mo proclaimed.  
"No, I got the job because a certain consultant threw a strop." Jonny grumbled.  
"Oi, don't put yourself down. You're gonna change this ward for the better, I know it."  
"Thank you." Jonny smiled as he picked up his beer.  
"To the future of Darwin." Mo said as she raised her wine glass.  
"That's a bit of a mouthful considering this is my second pint." Jonny retorted.  
"Alright then, to... A pay rise!" Mo announced.  
"Here here." Jonny nodded as he chinked glasses with Mo and then took a large gulp of his beer.  
**_  
Monday, 8am**  
Jac was in a fouler mood than usual because not only had the father of her child been promoted to a job that -in her opinion- he didn't deserve, but organising a nanny had been harder than anticipated when the father had also been contacting them telling them that their services weren't required. That had only layered on more stress because she knew that Emma's discharge date was going to be within weeks, not months. She entered her office, and sat down at her desk, only to find that there was a black ring binder folder placed in front of her computer with a post-it note on top saying: 'Any questions, contact Jonny Maconie, Clinical Nursing Manager, Darwin.'

Out of anger, she screwed the small yellow sticky note and threw it in the bin under her desk before she opened the folder to read it's containments, only after taking a few glances, she felt like she had unleashed hell.

There was a new rota for her stating that with no pay increase per hour, she would be working 65 hours a week at ridiculous times, instead of her current 48 hours. There was also a new restriction on theatre hours stating that she wasn't to exceed a certain number of hours in theatre each day and that if a procedure was to overlap her allotted time then she would have to page another CT surgeon.

Just as her anger was reaching it's peak, there was a knock at the door and in entered the cocky Scottish nurse whom she so longed to throttle.  
"Ah, you've had a look over the new documents. Great." Jonny nodded. "Any problems?" He asked innocently. He had done everything possible, within the rules, to annoy her because he knew that the one thing that Jac loved was her work, or more importantly theatre.  
"You can't just make me work 17 extra hours a week. I mean, I wouldn't normally complain but these shifts are ridiculous." She stated angrily.  
"Well, I'm afraid it's just how the computer has worked it out." Jonny said as he tried with all his might to conceal the evil smile. "Besides, your contract states that you have opted out for the maximum 48 hours per week scheme and I have it in writing." Jonny stated.

"Well then I withdraw my written notice." Jac stated.  
"Okay, but you also signed a contract saying that you would give three months notice before you begin working under 48 hours a week so I'm afraid you'll still have to wait three months. That's not a problem is it?"  
"You think you're all that just because you've had a tiny pay increase but you do realise that I still earn about triple your earnings." Jac stated.  
"Attitude Ms Naylor, have you not heard about the new equality policy? All employees on Darwin are to be treated equally no matter their position or their pay." Jonny recited.  
"Let me guess, that's another of your _brilliant_ new inventions." Jac muttered sarcastically to herself.

"Well, I'd better get on. Patients to see and paperwork to be getting on with." Jonny smiled smugly before he left the office and slammed the door with an almighty bang.

Jac looked down at her new timetable for working hours.  
_**Monday**__ - 8am-5pm and 6pm-Midnight  
__**Tuesday**__ - 9am-5pm  
__**Wednesday**__ - 6am-3pm and 6pm-Midnight  
__**Thursday**__ - 8am-5pm  
__**Friday**__ - Midnight-6am and 6pm-Midnight  
__**Saturday**__ - Midnight-8am and 10am-4pm  
__**Sunday**__ - 3am-10am_

She was working 65 hours a week. That was bloody ridiculous! Usually, she'd be overjoyed but it was the times that her shifts were that bothered her. Operations only took place between 8am and 6pm unless they were emergency so for around half of her shifts, she wouldn't actually be actively operating unless it was emergency.

But she couldn't show weakness. She knew that that was what Jonny was trying to do; he wanted her to admit that he had power too, and that she couldn't make all the decisions about their baby but she wasn't going to back down for certain. Besides, she'd only have to last three months until she could go back to working 48 hours a week, and she was sure that she could last until then. If not, she could try to get Jonny fired by setting him up for things he didn't do, but she didn't want to stoop to that level did she?


	2. Chapter 2

**6pm**  
Jac had just come up from NICU and entered the locker room to place her grey hoodie in her locker when Mo entered.  
"You been to see Emma?" Mo asked and Jac nodded. "How is she?"  
"Er stats are still improving slowly." She replied clinically.  
"You fancy coming for a drink?" The registrar asked as she pulled her coat on.  
"I'm on shift now until midnight." Jac stated.  
"Since when?" Mo asked confusedly.  
"Since some idiot got promoted to Clinical Nursing Manager." Jac retorted. "I looked over his contract and he has full control over our hours and theatre times but no, I don't see _you_ doing any night shifts." She moaned. She slammed her locker shut just as Jonny and Bonnie came in causing Jac to clench her fists in anger as they blocked the exit to the claustrophobic room.  
"Problem ladies?" Jonny queried as he entwined his fingers with his partners'. Jac just ignored him, pushed past both of them and stormed away to her office.

"Don't you think putting her on a night shift is a bit cruel?" Mo asked. "I'm pretty sure she always goes down to see Emma in the evenings. In fact, I think she feeds her sometimes after her shifts." She added.  
"No she doesn't, she doesn't see Emma unless Mr Solis threatens to call social services." Jonny stated.  
"She's just been to see her now." Mo stated.  
"Well I can't help it Mo, _someone_ needs to be on the night shifts and I can't put Elliot on them can I?" Jonny replied.  
"What about Dr Johnson and Dr Bale? They've been covering night shifts for months and they've been happy about it. Why change now?" Mo asked.

"Bonnie, you wanna go for a drink?" Jonny asked to change the subject.  
"Um, yeah sure." She smiled.  
"Great, let's go." Jonny said as he linked arms and then left, forgetting that he had promised to go for a drink with Mo. She could easily follow them, but she wouldn't feel wanted, instead she just got ready and then went home.

* * *

Jac sat in her office, bored out of her mind. What was she meant to do? She didn't know many people on the night shift, and those she did she didn't get on with. She didn't have any time in theatre unless there was an emergency, all of the ward rounds were completed by nurses and her paperwork was up to date without fault so what she was to do for the next six hours?

* * *

**8pm**  
Jac had been sitting in her office for two hours, after beginning to write a new essay with no real purpose, when she began to notice the full, achy feeling in her chest which she knew meant she either had to express milk, or go and feed Emma because she was engorged. She decided on going to feed her daughter because she preferred doing that in a private room than she did expressing in her office where anyone could walk in, and she had indeed almost been caught several times by the unfortunate nurse or even her colleague, Professor Hope. She got up and ensured all was well on the ward before she slowly headed down to NICU, taking the backstairs instead of the lift because she'd rather not be seen going down to see her daughter- people would start to think she was going soft.

Jac opened the door to the unit that she owed so much to, only she froze to find that Jonny was standing there and Bonnie was sitting in the chair besides her incubator, holding her daughter. Apparently, they had decided not to go for their drink.  
"You're supposed to be on shift." Jonny stated quietly yet sternly.  
"Ah Jac, I was just about to give you a call she's due a feed but we haven't got anymore of your milk." Mr Solis announced as he came out from the room besides the unit where he stated between checking obs and performing operations.  
"I..." Jac trailed off as she glanced between the consultant, her ex, and the evil woman holding her baby. "I was just going to feed her and then go back up there. Im taking a break." Jac stated as she approached Bonnie and used a stare to force the young woman to hand her baby over.  
"You're shift is only six hours long, according to your contract, and the law, you're not entitled to a break." Jonny stated.  
"Jonny, Emma needs her feed." Mr Solis stated.  
"Yeah c'mon, twenty minutes isn't going to make a difference. We'd better get going anyway." Bonnie said as she stood up and pulled her coat on.  
"I don't want this happening again, next time sort out her feeds before you're on shift." Jonny ordered before he and Bonnie left the unit.

"I wasn't aware you had night shifts." Mr Solis said questioningly.  
"I'll bring her back in half an hour." Jac stated before she left with Emma in her arms and headed towards the private room besides the unit that she always used.


	3. Chapter 3

It was just four weeks into Jonny's new job, and apparently there was no benefit of it other than Jonny's pay rise because no one was gaining from it at all. Mo had argued with her best friend about how he was treating the new, inexperienced mum, Jac and Jonny still weren't in agreement over a nanny, and Jac had never been more exhausted in her entire life.

Sleep deprivation caused by her night shifts had only made Jac more or irritable, and her stress and caffeine demand to stay awake had meant that she could no longer feed her own daughter, because Mr Solis had noticed that the caffeine was causing Emma to be restless and irritable - almost like her mother - but Emma wasn't getting the required sleep so she had been switched back to formula milk.

It was 4am on a Sunday morning, and Jac was just one hour into her seven hour shift, when a nurse burst into her office, awaking her from her drowsy state.  
"Ms Naylor, you're needed in theatre on Keller now." She demanded.  
"Right." Jac huffed as she jumped up and ran as fast her her tired limbs could carry her. She arrived in theatre, scrubbed up and then entered the operating room to find Michael Spence behind a patient with their chest 'cracked open' as she would put it.  
"Right, 34 year old female, trauma to the chest she had a chest drain inserted in the ED but she's now presenting as hypotensive - her blood pressure is very low and I think there's a bleed in the pericardium." Michael explained. "Jesus you look awful." He stated.  
"I could say the same about you." Jac muttered as she snatched the suction tube off of a scrub nurse and used it herself to find the leak. "Right, there's a tear in the brachiocephalic artery -_not_ in the pericardium." Jac corrected the doctor as she resolved to fix the problem using the correct tools. Once the tear was fixed, she stood with the needle held with surgical tongs inspecting the suture when everything went black.

"Jac? Oh sh- right let's get two units of O neg in here now. Sadie check on Ms Naylor and Lisa I need to you hold this pack over the bleed." Michael ordered as he watched the consultant before him fall unconscious and fall back to the floor. She had let the needle slip into a major blood vessel and the blood spewed out onto Michael's scrubs and face mask.

Everyone sprung into action and the poor nurse was just checking Jac's pulse when she awoke and quickly got to her feet. "What was that?" He demanded of the red head as she moved the nurse out of the way.  
"What was what?" Jac muttered. "Right give me two o prolene now." She ordered as she held her hand to the scrub nurse.  
"You're no seriously gonna carry on operating?" Michael argued.  
"I don't see another cardiothoracic surgeon do you?" Jac replied as she began to fix the damage that she had caused. She soon sutured the second bleed in a little longer than her usual time before she stepped back from the operating table.  
"Jac, go and wait in my office, I'll check you over-"  
"In your dreams." Jac retorted as she left the room. She dumped her theatre scrubs and gloves into the bin before she headed back up to her office.

* * *

**8:15am**  
Jac had a little under two hours left of her shift when a nurse entered Jac's office.  
"Ms Naylor. Mr Self and Ms Sheward would like a word in their office urgently." She stated simply before she left the office for fear of getting shouted at. Did they know about what had happened in theatre? Had Michael told them? Or was she simply worrying about nothing? Nevertheless, Jac got up and slowly padded to the CEOs office.

* * *

"Ah Miss Naylor, come in." Guy said as he sat at his desk with Colette standing besides him. She had had a grudge with Jac ever since she'd snapped at Jonny so Jac knew that the small meeting wasn't going to be a pleasant experience. "Now I've been told you blacked out in theatre earlier this morning. Is this true?" He asked.  
"The patient is now stable and his-"  
"That's not what he asked." Colette interrupted because she knew that the consultant was just trying to avoid the question.  
"Do you have any medical issues that I should be aware of?" He asked.  
"No." Jac stated bluntly.  
"So I have permission to check your medical history. Yes?"

"Look I know why I passed out. _She_ knows why I passed out." Jac stated as she nodded to the other female in the room.  
"What are you going on about?" Colette demanded.  
"It's because of the hours that I'm on. I- my shifts are so infrequent and I'm working 65 hours a week, I barely get any sleep and _she_ knows it." Jac snapped.  
"What? I have nothing to do with this." Colette stated.  
"You promoted Nurse Maconie to Clinical Nursing Manager so he's changed all of my shifts and my theatre times." Jac stated.

"What do you mean your hours are infrequent?" Guy asked.  
"Haven't you got a copy of my working hours?" Jac raised an eyebrow. Guy huffed before he got up and took a folder from one of his shelves. He flipped through until he got to what he needed; Jac's hours.

**_Monday _**_- 8am-5pm and 6pm-Midnight_  
**_Tuesday_**_ - 9am-5pm_  
**_Wednesday_**_ - 6am-3pm and 6pm-Midnight _  
**_Thursday_**_ - 8am-5pm _  
_**Friday**__ - Midnight-6am and 6pm-Midnight  
__**Saturday**__ - Midnight-8am and 10am-4pm  
__**Sunday**__ - 3am-10am_

"Hold on, who organises your hours?" Guy asked curiously.  
"Nurse Maconie." Jac replied bluntly before she glared at Colette. "I have to take caffiene supplements and energy drinks to stay awake and because of those, I can't express milk so my daughter is on formula because of my hours. I've got my daughter down in NICU who only has limited visiting hours because she has a medical schedule and I can only see her a certain times of the day which is why I can barely sleep alright. I..." Jac stopped when she realised that she had been ranting and she had to take a deep breath to compose herself. "Look, just stop making this harder than it's going to be, just discipline me so that I can get this over with, please." She pleaded, leaving both Guy and Colette taken aback.

"Well your blackout was probably a microsleep then. They happen when the body is exhausted and you brain momentarily shuts down. They can last between a second and thirty seconds long." Guy concluded. "Has it happened before?" He asked.  
"Not that I know of." Jac replied sheepishly.  
"Well, they can often go unnoticed for weeks so it's a good job we've caught it now. Jac you're not in trouble, you're not at fault here." Guy stated. "I want you to take sick leave, and-"  
"No, I don't want sick leave. I just want my old hours back." Jac stated. "Please." She added.

"Okay, what were your old hours?" Guy asked as he got ready with a post-it note and a pen.  
"9am-5pm Monday to Saturday." Jac stated.  
"Okay. Colette, I'll leave that with you and I believe you'll need to have a chat with Nurse Maconie." Guy said suggestively as he handed the sticky note to her. "Jac, in the mean time I want you to take the rest of this week off, and return on Monday with your original hours. And no arguments, I need you to catch up on sleep before you return to theatre." He stated sternly.

"I'll go and sort this out now." Colette said as she eyed Jac before she left the room.  
"You can- Jac?" Guy quickly leapt out of his chair as Jac's eyes rolled into the back of her skull before she collapsed onto the floor. As soon as he squatted down besides her, she regained consciousness and looked confusedly up at her boss. "It's alright, you've had another microsleep." Guy said softly as he slowly helped her to sit up. "Right, I'll call you a taxi to take you home." He stated as he assisted her in standing up.  
"No." Jac said sleepily as she managed to balance herself on her own two feet.  
"Jac, you can't go back to work." Guy stated sternly.  
"No. I... I want to go and see Emma." Jac stated.  
"I'm guessing Emma is your daughter." Guy assumed and Jac nodded. "Okay, do you want me to walk you up there or-"  
"It's _down_ stairs." Jac corrected. "But no, I can manage. And um, thank you... Thanks for getting my hours changed back." Jac gave a small smile before she left the room.

* * *

Jonny was smugly walking along the corridors of Darwin on his ward rounds when he bumped into his boss.  
"Ah, Jonny. I need a word." Colette stated as she pulled him aside, away from people ready for gossip.  
"What's up?" Jonny questioned.  
"I'm afraid, as of now you are back to charge nurse." Colette stated.  
"What? Why?" Jonny asked worriedly.  
"Because of the way that you have been treating Ms Naylor." Colette stated bluntly.  
"What? I have done everything by the book here, I've done no wrong." Jonny protested.  
"Oh, you've done everything by the book so it's alright that Jac collapsed in theatre from exhaustion? I'm sorry Jonny, you brought it on yourself." Colette stated solemnly before she left the nurse to reflect deeply on his thoughts and past decisions. Was making Jac suffer worth it? And how serious had her collapse been?

* * *

**5:30pm**  
It had been hours since Jac had left Guy's office, but no one had seen her on the hospital grounds. Jonny decided that it would probably be best to avoid her for a while after that event but after his shift, he wanted nothing more than to go and spend some time with his wee girl down in NICU. He buzzed himself in, using the pin code that he had used so many times only to find Mr Solis standing there with his finger pushed to his lips.

Jonny glanced behind the consultant and saw Jac sitting in the chair besides his daughter's incubator, with her head resting on a pile of towels on the bedside table and she was in a deep slumber. She had her arm limply resting inside of the incubator and she was holding hands with her little girl.

"It's not much but, Emma's enjoying the contact and she's starting to bond so I'd rather you didn't disturb Jac." Mr Solis said quietly before she left Jonny alone with his ex and their baby. Quietly, Jonny grabbed a chair from the side of the room, placed it on the opposite side of Emma and sat down besides her. He held Emma's free hand as the little girl wriggled about making only gentle babbles because she had contact with the two people who had brought her into the world.

* * *

Jac awoke after a full nine hour sleep and she hadn't felt so good in weeks. She smiled because the first thing she saw was her daughter, only it took her a few moments to realise that on the other side of Emma's place of safety was Jonny who had Bonnie on his lap and she was resting her head on his chest.  
"Oh, have a nice nap?" Jonny questioned as the consultant lifted her head from the pile of towels and then withdrew her hand from the incubator.  
"Have a nice demotion?" Jac asked smugly before she stretched her neck and arms out. Jonny decided to ignore the comment because he wished to know what had actually happened to her.  
"I um, I heard you collapsed in theatre. What happened?" Jonny asked and Bonnie, who had appeared to have just woken up lifted her head from Jonny's chest.  
"You just said what happened, there's nothing more to it. Oh, other than the fact that you caused it." Jac stated as she stood up.

"Where are you going?" He asked.  
"To try and find a nanny. She's going to be discharged in less than a month." Jac stated as she pulled her coat on.  
"Jac I-"  
"Can't afford to chip in anymore, yeah I know." Jac interrupted. "And I'm getting the male nanny." She added.  
"Jac wait." Jonny said as he quickly nudged Bonnie off of his lap and he got to his feet. "I know you're only getting a male nanny because you don't want Emma preferring her nanny as a mother than she does you, but you're just making me feel like you do by getting a man." Jonny stated.  
"Well what do you want me to do? Get a transvestite?" Jac remarked.

"Or, I dunno just not get a nanny at all yet. Look, I'm assuming you're going back to your old hours yeah? So why don't you do those hours, and I'll organise my hours so that whenever you're on shift, I'm not so there's always going to be one of us to look after her? I don't mind working at the weekends and doing a few night shifts because I could catch up on sleep when she sleeps." Jonny suggested. "Please, just... Give it some thought yeah?" He pleaded.

"And how do I know that you're not going to leave her in the care of _someone_ else?" Jac demanded as she glanced at Bonnie.  
"Because she's my daughter, and I wouldn't let anyone look after her that I didn't trust." Jonny stated.  
"But that's just it Jonny. You _can_ trust plenty of people... I can't." Jac admitted before she turned on her heel and headed away.  
"I don't see how she finds it so hard to trust people." Bonnie stated angrily as Jonny went and sat in the chair that Jac had been in so that an object -and his baby- was in between him and her.  
"Bonnie, she can't help it." Jonny muttered before he ran his hands over his face and through his hair.  
"Why? What's happened to her that makes her unable to trust anyone?" Bonnie smirked as though she was sure that there wasn't an answer to her question.  
"That just it Bonnie. She doesn't trust anyone enough to tell them what she's been through." Jonny stated as he finally begun to understand the mind of the Ice Queen.  
"Well if she won't tell anyone, it's her fault isn't it? How are we supposed to help her if she doesn't tell anyone?"

"You can't help her Bonnie. No one can."

**Please review :)**


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